Consciousness has been defined
as awareness of awareness. It has emerged as a field of
psychology only in recent times though some of its concerns have
their roots in religion, mysticism and occultism. The emergence of the study of
consciousness in psychology reflects a change in the mentality of
people. Today people are more troubled by existential problems
than hysteric symptoms. People are asking questions about self-actualization and the possibility of growth instead of
how to get rid of pathological symptoms. Consciousness is also
becoming a new approach in psychology, a new way of looking at
behavior, based on systems theory and the holistic method. The
study of consciousness emphasizes certain areas like dreams,
creativity and supernormal experiences. Consciousness has relevance for all
science, as it is related to philosophical issues and the model
of man. It is empirical, but open to descriptive, theoretical and
insightful understanding. In the 21st century psychology may well
be redefined as the study of consciousness and all psychology may
be rewritten in that perspective. The study of consciousness may
also serve to integrate many areas of psychology and other
sciences.

The concept of consciousness
arises out of the experience of altered states of consciousness.
An alteration in consciousness involves qualitative change in
perceptual, cognitive and conative aspects. It involves
alteration of mediational processes between stimulus and
response. Altered states of consciousness can be induced by
overstimulation, sensory deprivation or by altering body
chemistry.

ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

1. Waking and Sleeping

These two states which are so
different are regularly experienced by everybody every day. Some
people experience a pronounced hypnogogic state in between waking and sleeping and
some people get vivid hallucinations during this state.

2. Dreaming

Dreaming involves a state which
is physiologically and psychologically different from deep sleep.
Lucid dream is a still different mode of functioning where the
dreamer has the awareness that he is dreaming. This state is said
to be conducive for gaining insight into and awareness of the
unconscious and is a technique in mystic training.

3. Hypnosis

This state is characterized by
increased suggestibility and surrender of one's will.

4. Pathological States

The hysteric trance and schizoid states have been studied as altered
states of consciousness using the phenomenological approach.

5. Orgiastic Trances

This type of trance results from
group singing and dancing, often associated with religious
ceremonies. These may be psi
conducive states.

6. Drug Induced States

The notion of altered states of
consciousness evolved originally as a result of the study of
subjects who were habituated to drugs like LSD. Aldous Huxley's
`Doors of Perception' which he wrote on the basis of his
experiences with Mescaline is one of the pioneering classics in
this area. Many of the effects are due to physiological changes
like hypoglycemia. Some of the positive experiences
include remembering forgotten painful experiences, ego
dissolution, seeing beauty and significance in trivial things,
and increase in awareness

while those who do not trust get
bad trips characterized by terror, panic and suicidal tendencies.
Though there seem to be some similarities between drug induced
states and aesthetic and mystic states, the similarities may only
be superficial and the drug may be producing these effects by
damaging the brain of a person who may not be ready or mature
enough for a transformation of personality required for genuine
mystic experiences. Therefore most authorities do not recommend
the use of drugs for altering consciousness though some think
that under expert supervision the drugs may play a useful role in
efforts to alter states of consciousness. Drugs like ganja,
traditionally used for mystic training produce memory disorders,
decrement in complex psychomotor tasks, lethargy, lack of motivation and
lowering of testosterone levels. Some develop psychosis.

7. Aesthetic State

Many great artists have
described sudden changes in consciousness revealing great beauty
which inspire them for creation of works of art. It is almost
like a veil falling off from the eyes. Some people regard the
aesthetic state as `extraverted' mystic experience i.e. the
projection of the experience of integration within onto the
external world.

8. Mystic State

This is the most important among
all the altered states of consciousness. The term mystic is used
in the sense of beyond description. This is supposed to be the
absolute state of pure consciousness. This involves an alteration
of the self-process and freedom from symbolic thinking. At the
perceptual level there is unity, the experienced emotion is bliss
and at the conative level there is control and self-sufficiency.

Mystics belonging to different
mystic traditions have different names for this experience.
Hindus call this samadhi, Buddhists nirvana, Sufis fana,
Christians pneuma and the term used in Zen Buddhism is satori. Those experiencing this consider this
realization of truth or self-realization, This to some extent
overlaps with Maslow's transcendent self-actualization.
Fragmentary mystic experiences (peak experiences) have been reported by artists, and
spontaneous experiences resembling the mystic experience by
people viewing landscapes and during childbirth. The highest
mystic experience is supposed to be beyond time and space.

9. Other States of Consciousness

There seems to be no sharp line
of demarcation between feeling states and states of
consciousness. A person in a fit of rage functions differently
from his normal pattern of behavior. Fainting may involve
alterations in consciousness and effects of isolation may produce
alterations in consciousness. Activities like sports may induce
peak experience in expert players.

VALIDATION OF THE MYSTIC EXPERIENCE

Since mystic state is the basic
altered state of consciousness with which all other states are
compared, validation of the genuineness of this state as
different from the pathological states becomes very important.
Before the psychology of consciousness evolved as a discipline,
many psychologists considered such experiences as close to
withdrawal into intra-uterinenarcism and undifferentiated infantile ego state
of Freud. Jung has written that the 'samadhi' experience involves merging of the
meaningful contents of the unconscious into a meaningless
homogeneity, unlike the state of full integration achieved
through his technique of individuation where the different
contents of the unconscious are accessible to the self.

There is no logical reason to
suppose that the ordinary experience of reality is the most valid
one. All perception is essentially subjective and psychological
research has demonstrated how perception is influenced by
constancy phenomena, illusions and past experience and
unconscious factors. Modern physics has given a jolt to the
supposition that reality is as it is experienced by the senses.
Perception of time changes with alteration of consciousness. When
the psyche observes itself, space and time become relative. Just
because we seem to agree upon certain aspects of our ordinary
waking experience and just because it has some pragmatic value in
our everyday life we cannot assert that this experience is the
most valid one. The mystic says that there is an absolute state
wherein the person has full insight and is able to experience
reality uncolored by any subjective equation. Much of the
psychology of consciousness is concerned with validating the
mystic experience and studying the nature and characteristics of
this experience and means for achieving this experience.

DYNAMICS OF CHANGE IN CONSCIOUSNESS

Deautomatisation is the process of changing the
hierarchical ordering of perceptual and cognitive structure and
function which limit, select, organize and interpret stimuli. It
involves nullifying the habitual patterns of behavior. It means
getting freedom from instinctual stimulus-response patterns,
released by social milieu and strengthened throughout life. It
amounts to becoming less of an S-R machine and becoming more of a
person. It is the culmination of a process of intensification of
awareness and consciousness and becoming more live. It is the end
point of the development of insight and self-control. The
ordinary man is the slave and victim of a set of situationally
induced motives and it is not easy to get out of the socially
induced matrix of loves and hates. Deautomatisation involves
loosening of existential insecurity and reduction of survival
anxiety and the consequent change in the perception of
self-environment relationship. Solitude, renunciation of usual
stimuli, blocking habitual stimuli by chants and meditation,
exposure to unusual stimuli (eg. large expanse of water, scenery,
view from a mountain top, etc.) and so on may help in
Deautomatisation. Exposure to mightiness and immensity of the
elements and forces of nature helps in losing self-centeredness
and self-importance. This leads to acceptance of the triviality
and insignificance of one's individual existence and ego
dissolution. When an individual is not bothered about himself,
his restlessness ceases, leading to increased tranquillity and
peace.

The change in personality
leading to mystic experience is one of increasing integration,
opposite to the psychotic change, which is change towards
disintegration.

BASES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The factors which influence,
mould and maintain a habitual functioning level of consciousness
can be grouped into three : Physical, Social and Psychological.

1. Physical bases of Consciousness

Some philosophers think that
mind and body are one. It is supposed that the structure and form
determine the emergent vitality. Though the systems of physiognomy and phrenology in which bodily signs are used to
predict behavior traits are not accepted by many, there is some
evidence showing that bodily structure and function influence
behavior, in general terms. It was believed that Buddha had a
perfect body. The modern psychosomatic concept also points to the
same direction. Mystic consciousness is supposed to involve body
transcendence. A healthy functioning of the body is essential for
forgetting the body. Any disease or imperfection cause pain or
lethargy and brings down the level of mental functioning.

Of the different systems of the
body the endocrine system and the nervous system are perhaps most
important in conditioning the mind. The pineal gland and the
limbic system have been related to physical changes mediating
higher levels of consciousness. It has been hypothesized that
pure consciousness is experienced when the brain comes to a state
of rest, permitting transcendence when the excitatory and
inhibitory processed have been stilled. Recent evidence points to
the conclusion that experience can to some extent modify and
alter heredity. There are hormones which switch on and off the
functioning of various genes. Genes change place (jumping
genes)altering characteristics, mediating higher forms of
consciousness. It has been found that the two hemispheres of the
brain function somewhat independently. This has been called the
split brain hypothesis or bimodal consciousness. For right-handed
people, the left hemisphere mediates rational and analytic
functions more than the right, while the right hemisphere
mediates holistic, synthetic and intuitive functions. Naming,
ordinary speech and reading and writing, abstraction, arithmetic
processes and aggressive, manipulative problems solving, etc. are
more a function of the left hemisphere, while the right shows
dominance in singing words, arts and crafts, recognition,
affective experiences, body images, dream, figurative modes of
function and so on.

It has been found that processes
like meditation lead to better integration of function of both
hemispheres (as indicated by increased coherence of brain waves
from the two hemispheres), which may be required for experiencing
the higher states of consciousness.

2. Social Bases of Consciousness :

A. Culture & Reality

Different cultures codify
reality differently. An individual, growing up in a culture
imbibes the characteristic perception of reality in that culture.
Modern cultures emphasize the analytical, logical mode. Language
is the main mechanism for transmitting a mode of consciousness
and an analysis of language can to some reveal the mentality of
people who speak that language.

In modern cultures words denote
specific objects while in some primitive cultures words denote
emotive reactions to objects rather than observed forms. For
example, in Java, the word Ave (for sibling of the opposite sex),
literally means strain and propriety and Kainga (for sibling of
the same sex) means easy relationship. Intensification of
consciousness is associated with emphasizing the present more
than the past or future. In modern cultures, as a result of
concern over the future and consequent stress on causality and
linear connection of events, people lose touch with the present.
In some primitive cultures, the concept of causality is almost
absent. In a Trobriand culture, events and objects are seen as
self-contained. There seems to be no perception of change, or
lineal connection. Their language has no adjectives. There are
separate words for a green fruit and ripe fruit. An object ceases
to be itself when it changes. There are no words for past or
future.Past and future are described in the present tense. There
is no notion of becoming, only pre-ordained patterns are
recognized.

B. Social Relationships

Man's self-concept is related to
his perception of others. Your perception of other people and how
you treat others reflect your attitude to self. How a person
functions is determined largely by his matrix of loves and
hatreds, attachments, identifications and rivalries.
Situationally induced motives and socially conditioned
tension-relaxation patterns influence how a person functions.
Survival depends on the pattern of co-operation and competition.
This determines release of instincts and their possible
sublimation and transcendence.

3. Psychological Bases of Consciousness

The elevation of consciousness
is supposed to be a function of degree of Psychosynthesis
achieved, the degree of integration of the conscious and
unconscious elements, the degree of insight achieved. This
depends on self-acceptance, awareness, detachment and instinctual
transcendence. This implies freedom from pre-conceptions,
entanglements, complexes, inferiorities and dissociative
tendencies. Insecurity, restlessness and compensatory desires
lead to self-love, self-importance and the ego. On the other hand
stilling of the mind and loss of ego lead to increased
unitiveness.

METHODS OF ALTERING CONSCIOUSNESS

Unlike most other fields of
activity and attainment, there is no guaranteed one method that
leads to higher states of consciousness. In fact the
`doing-achieving' orientation itself is supposed to be a block.
It is not what you do actually, but the mental state which
counts.

1.Physical methods

Relaxation:

The physical methods suppose
that the body is almost the same as the unconscious. Free body
movement implies free emotional expression. Every repression is a
muscular block.

Energy gets locked up in bodily
tension. Conflicts are contained in and expressed through the
body. People who are mentally tense have physical symptoms like
clenched fist, gripping arms, blinking, mannerisms, gestures,
propitiatory smiles, strained voice, shallow breath and dead
hands. Presence of coldness, inability to express anger, etc.
show up through the body. Increasing body awareness is one method
of achieving relaxation. According to the Weber-Fechner law,
there is greater sensitivity in lower muscular tension. So
cultivating body awareness by concentrating on various points in
the body and achieving bodily relaxation is a method of achieving
mental or total relaxation. Jacobson's relaxation technique or
yogic techniques of yoganidra and savasan help in relaxation.

B. Massage:

Massage is used to treat
stress-related behavior disorders. It is supposed to have a
bearing on consciousness. The theory supposes that personality is
reflected in the physical body. structural blockage goes with
emotional blocks. Attitudes influence structure of body. Emotions
cause change in length and thickness of muscles, change in
connective tissue and immobilization.

Massage causes reorganization of
muscle function and reintegration of structure. Ida Rolf has
developed techniques of massage called Rolfing and there is some
evidence showing increased sensitivity and awareness and changes
in perception following Rolfing. When several people jointly
massage a person, he gets a feeling of belongingness also.

C. Dance:

All dance probably has a bearing
on consciousness. Certain specially designed dances like the Sufi
dance where the to dervishes whirl very fast and Tai Chi Ch'uan
of China are supposed to help in alteration of consciousness in
addition to promoting mental and physical fitness.

D: Yogic Postures:

The yogic system of exercises or
asanas and kriyas are supposed to stimulate psychic
centers. They produce a feeling of fitness and well being.

E. Breathing Exercises:

Breathing is supposed to be a
bridge connecting the somatic and autonomic nervous systems as
breathing is voluntary, though without deliberate effort it goes
on. Deep breathing helps in relaxation, as there is a connection
between breathing rhythm and the mind. Breathing pattern changes
with the state of consciousness and controlling breath enables a
person to control the mind. Pranayama or yogic breathing techniques help in
achieving mind control.

F. Expressive Techniques:

Permitting a person to express
his suppressed anger (anger therapy) and other emotions before
others as in encounter groups, helps in tension release and
physical and mental relaxation. People pound a pillow, stamp
their feet, bite, shout or scream (primal scream therapy), venting their emotions and
inhibitions. These have an indirect liberating effect on
consciousness. Cathartic methods, however have to be used with
caution. If overdone, they may reinforce the negative emotions
and accompanying aggressive and other undesirable acts.

G. Kasina Exercise:

These are rhythmic activities
used for fixating the impulse to action. These are similar to
some people twitching their moustache, or playing with the
tablecloth, rapping, smoking, arranging things, etc. to get rid
of surplus energy. Many people use hobbies for such a benefit.
Rituals also probably serve some such function. Kasina exercises were used by Buddhist monks.

2. Social Methods

A.Manipulation of Social Factors:

Getting to know several
languages helps a person to get unstuck form one mode of
perceiving reality. Religious teachings (eg. love thy neighbor, nishkamakarma,
etc.) help in altering the mode of social functioning with
consequent changes in mental functioning. Changed social
functioning as well as total withdrawal from society into
solitude may help different types of persons at different levels
of personality to achieve changes in mode of functioning.

B. Altering Social Relationships:

There is a potential growth
situation whenever people interact. Counseling can have a deeper
level effect than is ordinarily recognized by counselors. In
consciousness oriented counseling the aim is long-term or deep
level change rather than solving a specific problem or removal of
symptoms. From this perspective, suffering or maladjustment is
desirable, if that would lead to greater integration or growth or
maturity in the long run. Many esoteric disciplines recognize
periods of depression (when a practitioner realizes the
impermanence of all things) or heightened sex drive during
certain stages of practice, as normal. These schools recognize
the personality of the guru or the stage of growth reached by him
as the most important factor helping growth in the disciple. In sat sang persons develop through psychic
interexchange or by sympathetic vibrations while interacting with
highly developed persons. Social values and way of life are
probably related to a person's personality structure and changes
in these can help in altering consciousness.

3. Psychological Methods

Freud wrote that the unconscious
is omniscient, omni-present and omnipotent. His main technique
was integration through insight. Jung extended this concept to
individuation process to include integration of the elements of
the collective unconscious also. Roberto Assagioli developed
techniques of concentration involving vivid visualization of
archetypal symbols to achieve Psychosynthesis. Meditation, once a
technique of various religious traditions is now being perfected
as a psychological technique. Meditation is mind-fasting or the
deliberate attempt to still the mind. It is an easy, effortless
and restful state of alertness. It leads to both physical and
mental relaxation. Though some people speak of concentrative
meditation and opening-up mediation, the general policy is to
regard concentration (on an object or idea) as a preliminary
training and meditation proper as reduction of thoughts or
thoughtlessness. Meditation culminates in super consciousness.